Self Help Fest first came to life when A Day To Remember were discussing the idea that music is therapeutic – it’s something that people turn to for emotional support. They often hear from fans that their music helps people cope with their stressful lives, whether through happy songs or sad ones, people tend to use music to express their emotions. To have a festival focused on attendees helping themselves through music (hence the name Self Help Fest), is exactly what Jeremy McKinnon and gang set out to accomplish with their now flourishing festival. Over the last three years the Self Help has attracted thousands of music listeners to watch artists with a common goal: bringing people together through music.
ADTR guitarist Kevin Skaff recently spoke with us regarding the upcoming festival, and discussed what separates Self Help from other festivals. Putting together a festival can be stressful, so taking the time to appreciate some of the better parts of it makes it all that more enjoyable. “The best part of running Self Help Fest is being a part of something that many people look forward to every year. Having a day of the year where we get to see all of our friends rules.”
2016 marks the fourth official Self Help Festival – and it promises to be one of the biggest yet. Much of the excitement can be attributed to the highly anticipated reunion performance by Underoath. Fans can also expect to see performances by A Day To Remember, August Burns Red, Issues and many more. Skaff discusses bringing Underoath to the festival for their reunion performance, as well as highlights his excitement over ADTR headlining the festival once again.
“[Underoath] have been good friends of ours, so when we heard they would be getting back together to play some shows, we were like ‘You’re playing Self Help.’ One of my favorite bands playing their first show back at a festival I’m a part of? Sign me up! We want the show to outlive any of us and that can’t happen if we headline every year. It’s our festival but we feel like there are other bands that can headline it. It’s not just a show to us. It’s our name on the festival and we want to deliver. We always want to but there’s just something about this particular show. The vibe is always right every year and it’s just a great day to be a part of music.”
See also: Where Is A Day To Remember? (below)
Where Is A Day To Remember?Checking in from Florida.
Posted by A Day To Remember on Saturday, March 5, 2016
For music fans, Self Help is rapidly becoming a festival that should top their list of must-attend shows for the year. So far it has been graced by artists like The Devil Wears Prada, Bring Me The Horizon, The Word Alive and many more. With a lineup that consists of like-minded musicians each year, there are many reasons to attend the festival whether you have attended before or if this is your first time.
“If you’ve been before then I think that coming back is a no brainer. We try to cater to the fans each year and while it’s still a work in progress it’s just going to get bigger and better. We’re releasing an app this year so you can schedule out your day and get notifications of any “surprises.” Plus, we’re headlining this year!”
The festival is still new to the scene, but with the love and care ADTR put into it there’s no doubt it will continue to flourish as every year passes. We see a long life ahead of Self Help, and so do the guys in ADTR.
“We were floored [by the festival’s popularity]. Hopefully it becomes a bigger and better festival with the same feeling it’s had thus far. That’s something I can’t stress is enough is the feeling it gives people. I don’t want people being miserable because they’re melting in heat, or everything is too expensive, etc. We want people to have the best day of their year…until the next year when we do it again.”
Self Help Fest is set for March 19 in San Bernardino, CA in NOS Events Center. General Admission tickets are available for purchase here.
